Did Moby Arena crowd influence refs against SDSU?

Colorado State forward Pierce Hornung, left, battles for control of a loose ball with San Diego State guard Jamaal Franklin in the second half of Colorado State's 66-60 victory in an NCAA college basketball game in Fort Collins, Colo., Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
David Zalubowski — Associated Press

Colorado State forward Pierce Hornung, left, battles for control of a loose ball with San Diego State guard Jamaal Franklin in the second half of Colorado State's 66-60 victory in an NCAA college basketball game in Fort Collins, Colo., Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
/ Associated Press

San Diego State fans, no doubt, look at a stationary Jamaal Franklin being whistled for a blocking foul as Colorado State’s Dorian Green crashes into him with 19.4 seconds left in Wednesday night’s 66-60 loss and think: We got screwed.

A growing body of researchers looks at 8,745 orange-clad crazies in Moby Arena erupting in approval at referee Randy McCall’s call and think: Of course you did.

SDSU coach Steve Fisher pointed out, after watching the game tape on the charter flight home late Wednesday night and again early Thursday morning, that his team failed to “make plays” down the stretch that win tough games, and that No. 24 Colorado State did. But he also did not dispute the conclusion that television replays, Rams coach Larry Eustachy and even Green himself all appeared to reach: that McCall probably blew the call in what, at the time, was a one-point game.

“I feel as if we had the guy in front of him,” said Fisher, whose team also was on the wrong end of a questionable call with 19 seconds left in their previous road game, a 70-67 loss at Air Force. “There are certain refs that you would prefer to have at home rather than on the road. There are others that you say, ‘I’m glad we got him on this game.’ To be honest, when I looked at the crew, I liked it.

“But sometimes things happen.”

And that’s where it gets interesting.

The latest research into the curious phenomenon of home-court advantage in sports – and yes, there is such a pursuit – indicates that rabid crowds do not impact the visiting players as much as the officials. Tobias Moskowitz and Jon Wertheim devoted two chapters to the subject in “Scorecasting,” a 2011 book that debunks popular myths and misconceptions of sport. Their theory: “Referee bias,” as they call it, is the basis for home-court advantage across most sports.

“Psychology finds that social influence is a powerful force that can affect human behavior and decisions without the subjects even being aware of it,” they write. “Psychologists call this influence conformity because it causes the subject’s opinion to conform to a group’s opinion.”

It helps explain why, over 20 seasons, NBA teams made an identical 75.9 percent of their free throws whether at home or in hostile atmospheres. Or why NBA teams are whistled for travelling – largely a judgment call – 15 percent more often on the road.

One study involving soccer linesmen showed videos of the same tackles with and without crowd noise piped in, and asked whether they warranted fouls. The linesmen agreed with the sentiments of the home crowd significantly more often than when it was silent.

A 2007 study tracked calls in Italian soccer games during a season when several teams, as a punishment for crowd violence, played in empty stadiums. The percentage of calls favoring the home team plunged in those games.

Or look at Colorado State, which has won 27 straight at Moby Arena, the nation’s third longest home win streak.